I wonder what judgment day will be like for coaches. Obviously, God won’t line up the coaches in a particular group, but we will certainly answer to him for how we operated. That kid you bullied because he wasn’t good at baseball? God knows. That team you ran up the score on because they were simply incapable of getting you out? He knows. Those people you treated as if they were stupid because they didn’t know what you know? Same.
There’s a healthy fear of the Lord needed when coaching. Here’s why…
Proverbs 22:22-23–“Do not rob the poor because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate; for the Lord will plead their case, and take the life of those who rob them.”
I’m paying attention to that! Wait, you say, I’ve never robbed anyone. Maybe not, but be sure to see the timeless truth God is teaching there. Robbing the poor because they can’t do anything about it is just the same as treating a kid like he’s worthless because he can’t play baseball. It’s the same as making fun of another team because they aren’t any good. It’s the same as having an arrogant attitude because of your knowledge (vs. the person who “doesn’t know the game”).
And guess who is on the other side? It’s not just that kid, that team, or those people. It’s God. Good luck defending your actions against Him. The point here isn’t that God will kill you for treating a kid poorly, but that you are accountable for it.
So, coach, consider what judgment day will be like, the actions you’ll answer for. Then, fall on the grace of Jesus for forgiveness. Depend on the Holy Spirit for renewal and a different mindset. Becoming different is both possible and available, but only through new life in Jesus. Pleasing God through your coaching is not out of your reach, but it only happens by faith and trust in Him.
What’s the best example you’ve seen of a coach whose approached changed from “robbing the poor because they are poor” to a style that was pleasing to God? Leave a comment on the blog, Twitter, or Facebook. I’d love to hear from you.
My sons football coach. He always tries to teach the boys to be humble. In youth football there is one team per age division. Saturdays is game day. All teams play the same opponent just different age divisions. Starts at 9 with the youngest team. He would always threaten that if anyone ran the score up on the younger teams he would do the same when it came time for us to play our game. One of the pee wee teams decided it would be funny to beatbou pee wees 60-0. It was a slaughter The juniors took the field (my sons team) Coach decide it was gonna be lesson time. He changed his mind. We did beat them bad but coach held back. My son said because he told them it wasnt the right thing to do. The kids didnt deserve that just cause the coaches wanted to act like that. It made my son and I both proud to know his coach was a better person.
That coach is a good man. I’m with you, proud to know what kind of guy he is. I don’t deal well with bullies who run over people just because they can. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. Good to hear from you!
Tell coach, way to go